Friday, September 30, 2011

Last month, I went out to see Take Offense play (if you haven't seen them yet, do it, they tore the roof off of the place) and found out that a few bands on the tour were from Europe. I always try to show support to bands on tour, especially when they are from another country. Both bands shared members (Cornered and New Morality) and I took the time to talk to the guys. Niels, the singer for Cornered, told me that he and the other guys check us regularly (thanks guys) and asked if we could post a link to their newest recording for them. So here it is, the newest offering from Cornered. If they come back to the US and you get a chance to check them out, do so. You won't be disappointedhttp://www.mediafire.com/?chkoc7oh1cpgtut

You can also "Like" them on Facebook and keep up with what's happening on their end by clicking here: Cornered on Facebook

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Here's an interview with Damnation AD from No Reason Zine, #4. I saw Mike last month and asked about the Cure record they had rumored to be recording...looks like there might be some truth to this. Ill get more info for you guys soon but until then, here's the interview.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

I just received a message from Jamie, head of the label American Enemy Inc., letting me know that he will be releasing the Culture discography on both CD and vinyl in early 2012. He just finalized the deal with former Culture member Rich Thurston yesterday and they've already gone forward with remastering the band's catalog. Here's a statement from Rich on the upcoming discography:

"CULTURE was and always will be one of my proudest achievements. We weren't the most popular. We didn't get on the cool big labels of the time. We didn't play a tons of shows. Given all that I think we helped define a genre as well as influence bands with like minded goals in the mid to late 90s. Working on this discography brings back so many memories and yeah even some regrets. I am so happy and proud that all of the songs we worked so hard on and believed in will be put together on one release. Its my crowning accomplishment."

The layout is being handled by Damien Moyal and is already in the process of being put together. Order information will be posted in the near future so until then, follow American Enemy Inc on Facebook to keep up to date with the release.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

As a singer/frontman and a songwriter, who/what are some of your influences and why?

GREG: I find that I am influenced by people from so many different sources. Lou Reed's New York album was a huge influence on me, and obviously not hardcore related. In the liner notes to that record, he wrote that the record was meant to be listened to in one sitting as if it was a book or a movie. And that's what I brought to my contribution to the Trial - Are These Our Lives? record. I wanted it to be the same way, though maybe with slightly more intense music than Lou Reed's. And that's arguable. He can take guitar, bass and drums and make them sound like they need nothing else ever. Other influences: Behemoth for their sheer intensity and ability to play like they do. Listen to their Evangelion album. If you can't appreciate its speed and/or intensity, then we can't be friends. I also was inspired and influenced by Catharsis' Samsara album. That record is just relentless creatively, politically, socially, personally and psychologically. More than anything else, I am influenced by individuals, specifically those who have suffered and survived, or suffered and died. I spend a lot of time processing and thinking and feeling with people about what their experiences in life have been with the things they've faced. Our capacity to feel is astounding, and our ability to survive in the face of suffering is even more astounding. I remember standing at Birkenau near Auschwitz in the middle of the camp at Birkenau and just taking a breath in trying to imagine all of what happened there. I have been there many times over the years. And just letting all of that history sink in, the individuals, their fears and pain, their hopes and survival, and their loss, sometimes even the loss of themselves. Thats ten albums worth of inspiration for art and creation right there in one deep breath. And beyond the historical, one on one interactions with people - people with courage and sincerity - about their lives and mine, and the things they have had to face and work with and endure. That's where the real inspiration is found to live more fully and then to transform that sense of living into the creation of art.

In this video, Unrestrained singer/frontman and xStuck In The Pastx co-owner/co-manager Justin Sitner, among others, says that his favorite hardcore band is Trial. What do you think it is it about Trial that appeals to so many people?

GREG: It might be something to do with our dashing good looks, quick wit, and limitless charm. But since few of these things appeal to Justin, I would suggest that - other than the rifftastic jams unleashed by Timm McIntosh, that there is a sincerity to the band that appeals to people because we present ideas and feelings - and i mean that we do that musically as well as lyrically - that reflect what is happening within their own hearts and minds. The bands that tend to impact me do the same thing. Take a band like Into Another for example. The lyrics just go so far beyond most other music in my iTunes: just deeply emotionally clear and direct and I feel like they were written by me for me. Thats when a band really reaches people... when they feel like the songs were written by them, for them. Because ultimately in terms of Trial, the songs were written for them, at least with that amount of connection and devotion. I am deeply honored when anyone says that we are their favorite band. Your very own Justin and I were hanging out in Portland when we first met. And I was making conversation, and asked him "So, who are your favorite hardcore band?" He stopped for a second, held up his arm - which has a full sleeve Trial tattoo - and looked at me like I was a total idiot. Point taken. And FYI: Justin also likes Behemoth, so we know his tastes in music are solid.

What are some of your favorite Trial songs/records and why?

GREG: Are These Our Lives? has definitely stood the text of time for me. And that was the test and challenge: when I was writing the lyrics my challenge to myself was to write them so that I would be able to stand behind them when I was 90 years old not just 30 years old. I wanted something so long lasting that I wouldn't look back on it as historical or with nostalgia, but rather as an ongoing representation of current truths. I still feel in my mind and heart every word on that record, every note of the music. It all works together and I love it still. A part of loving that record is remembering the recording sessions and how Brian Redman was so supportive of me during that time. For those who don't know, Brian was our bassist and he died two years ago in a moped accident. I am still in shock from that. But before the studio, I had gone a year without singing because I had lost my voice. I trained vocally for a year with an opera coach, and never once raised my voice that year in order to protect my vocal cords. When we got to the studio, no one knew what was going to happen and whether or not the vocals were even going to work. I got behind the microphone and anticipation was very high. A year before I had no voice: what was going to happen now? We decided to try "An Awakening" first, and the first take, the first moment back vocally after a year, is what you hear on the record. I remember launching into that first line "Are we the dead?" and looking through the control room window and Brian just threw his arms above his head and had this wide eyed look on his face like "YES!!!!!!!!" It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it now because it was such a moment of triumphant victory. I miss him so goddamn much. But in that moment we all knew that we were going to have a record, and possibly a great one. In terms of the earlier songs, "In Closing" always meant so much to me and still does. It was always a rager and we never play it. Its almost like we forgot about it along the way.

Discuss your most recent band/project, Between Earth & Sky.

GREG: Between Earth & Sky is a new hardcore band from Vancouver BC and Seattle that really isn't that new. The band - Sean Lande (By a Thread, Strain), Happy Kreter (Gob, Burden), and recording engineer Blair Calibaba and I - formed over eleven years ago as best friends who wanted to simply release a CD together that we had collaborated on. This summer that dream became reality. The goal with the band was to explore the psychology of suffering and examine our lives for what they ultimately are: hopeless and doomed. This isn't intended to sound negative but rather realistic. Ultimately we're all food for worms, but what we do in the midst of that fact, how we love, the ways we live, how we interact, are really what matter. A hundred years from now I am going to be a skeleton. But until then, I take every second to kiss with conviction, live with passion, and feel as deeply as I can. Live as if you are made of gunpowder and a fuse has been lit nearby leading to you. You are explosion and anticipation all at once, so fulfill that responsibility. Between Earth & Sky is about what that process feels like. Our new CD, entitled Of Roots and Wings, is available now on Refuse Records from Europe (http://refuserecords.prv.pl/) as a CD and 12"ep and it will be released in the USA as a double 7" on Hellfish Records (http://www.hellfishfamily.com) later in 2011. You can hear more from the band including a song from the EP by visiting our site on the worldwide internet web at http://www.betweenearthandsky.com

You are both vegan and Straight Edge. Has it been difficult for you to maintain either or both as you've gotten older? If so, in what way(s)? If not, why not?

GREG: It is easier than ever to be vegan. I think back to twenty years ago and what it was like being vegan then, at a time when there was only one restaurant in Seattle that had a completely vegan menu. And then fast forward to now when there are a dozen. Or in Portland Oregon, the vegan Mecca of the world, where there are fifty or more. And you talk to people who were around even before that, like Richie Birkenhead from Into Another / Underdog, and he tells stories of being on tour with Youth of Today in the late 80's and hoping that his container of soymilk would last from NYC all the way to Los Angeles because there wasn't anywhere to buy another one. Its so easy to be vegan now, and people who use the excuse that its too hard to be vegan just need to be shown how easy it is and how many options are available.

As for being Straight Edge, it's easy too - when people offer you alcohol, you reply that you'd rather have something else. And when you are on your own, don't drink. Not too tricky. (I am typing this while listening to one of my current favorite hardcore songs which happens to be a great song about the 'edge: "Above the Influence" by Betrayed) I actually don't mind if people drink occasionally. I don't hate alcohol, just the people who let it take control of their lives at the expense of others. It doesn't affect me as long as people aren't being selfishly stupid or they aren't driving. Drunk drivers should be stopped by any means necessary, and you can use your imagination as you choose to decide what the limits of that are. Drunk drivers are like people shooting bullets into crowds of innocent people. If someone had a gun and was shooting it in a public place, you'd do anything to stop them wouldn't you? Yet we condone people being buzzed and driving. I have no sympathy whatsoever for what happens to drunk drivers and actually support creative direct action to stop them. But back to the point I wanted to make: drinking itself or not drinking is irrelevant really. Happy from Between Earth & sky worded it best. He was speaking in an interview about how not drinking is irrelevant in a way: bring straightedge he suggested isnt a triumphant end goal, but rather brings you to a point of zero essentially and what really matters isn't whether or not you drink, its what you actually do with this newfound clarity. I back that. In terms of my own life, as time has gone on, I find that its easy to not be drinking in social situations where everyone else is drinking. I used to feel awkward about it sometimes but I don't anymore. If the only thing that bound me to the people I spent time with is alcohol, then my thought is that I would need new friends, not new things to drink. I don't need alcohol to free my inhibitions. I spent a few years in a relationship with an alcoholic and seeing the effect that her drinking had on her family and friends was enough to remind me of how alcohol can ruin everything. When one's family members are feeling neglected and emotionally abandoned, or one's ability to communicate with loved ones is affected, it shows where your real priorities are. My dear friend Mike has a screen name that says it all: walkxaway. That is my mantra in situations like that now. And yes, when you say it, you pronounce the x.

How long have you been vegan and how long have you been Straight Edge?

GREG: I committed to being vegan in July of 1991 after being vegetarian for three years and dabbling in being vegan before that. And I quit drinking and drugs on September 30th 1988.

What is your view of Straight Edge hardcore bands whose core members are no longer Straight Edge, particularly those bands who reunite either for the short or long haul?

GREG: For me - in situations like that - its about the singers. They are the communicators of the message, which isn't to take any value from any other band member in any other situation. But in the specific situation you are describing: where a band who had been all straightedge reunite without that commitment still intact, for me if the singer is still straightedge, then I can get somewhat behind their reunion, playing, etc, though more for nostalgia sake than anything else. But take a band like Strife for example on the other side of the coin. They built their entire existence on the fact that they were straightedge and claimed (in my opinion immaturely so but whatever) that there was only "one" truth. Then almost all of them betrayed their fans, supporters, and their own integrity by selling out. I guess people who come to their shows now are there because they like to just scream words, regardless of the meaning behind those words. Not the way I'd like to spend my time, but if people are into screaming, rock on.

As I mentioned in a previous interview, for better or worse (mostly worse, I know), I'm a lifelong red meat 'n cheesy potatoes man. However, I'm also a staunch supporter of animal rights and the very proud caretaker of 3 rescue dogs, so needless to say, I'm interested in at least learning more about veganism. Being as how you're one of the most respected authorities in the hardcore scene on all things vegan, please give the laypeople (like me) reading this a brief and non-Googled description of veganism.

GREG: I am glad you want to learn more about being vegan, but I need to say that if I am one of the most respected authorities in the hardcore scene on all things vegan, people have an even more corrupted relationship with and perspective on authority than I thought they did. The real authorities are people like Anika from Seattle Vegan Score (http://www.veganscore.com) who is actively involved with exploring options for vegans in the Seattle area and trying new products all the time. Seek her out for advice on all things vegan. Here is the description and definition that you wanted though: vegans only eat and wear things that are not animal derived. For you, that means you would be eating fake meat and vegan cheesy potatoes. There are countless delicious things to eat as a vegan. But taste and compassion aren't the only reasons to go vegan. Being vegan also makes you better at chess. It leads to higher scores on at least eleven different videogames. As a vegan, you will be able to climb trees faster, predict the end of boring movies so that you can turn them off and watch something else, and will be able to drink soda without even opening the can. As a vegan you get to date far more beautiful people because you yourself become a far more beautiful person. And you will be able to type so fast that emails get sent before you even hit "reply". But it doesn't end there. Being vegan increases your chances of winning the lottery by 43%. It makes you able to listen to black metal for hours without going insane. It makes it possible to literally walk between raindrops. And it means that you will be able to understand languages you don't speak, even while you are sleeping, which you likely won't need to ever do again because of the energy you'll have. All of this doesn't even yet mention the increases that you'll notice in your ability to throw and catch javelins, run as fast as a car, and do spontaneous backflips to impress and entertain the elderly. At the core, veganism might seem to be about not eating or wearing animal products, but ultimately its really just about being more awesome.

Is it at all hypocritical or, at the very least, a conflict of interests for one to be both a meat eater and pro-animal rights? Why or why not?

GREG: Yes, it is. Both hypocritical and a conflict of interests. But, and I say this without taking away from the fact that I think you should go vegan (did I mention that being vegan makes it likely that you will get signed to the NHL as a professional hockey player, befriend a gazelle, and discover buried treasure?), I feel that its impossible to live without conflict of interests in our culture. Again, I want you to go vegan but that isn't so that you wil be free of conflicts of interests. Its so that you can live with less conflicts in your interests. And not you necessarily, but everyone. I like the idea of decreasing the things we do that are destructive to others and to animals and to the world. Case in point, I am writing this interview on a plane while burning more fuel and contributing to the destruction of the earth far more than I would be had I walked home from Denver to Seattle today. But because I live in this culture, I wouldn't have thought about walking. When we make convenience the rule, there is a substantial price to pay for what we save.

Normally, I allow people that I interview to shamelessly plug their other musical or non-musical endeavors at the end of the interviews. In your case, however, I'd like for you to briefly discuss all of your many other endeavors that you would like to talk about publicly.

GREG: A couple things: One Hundred For Haiti (http://www.onehundredforhaiti.org) is the charity I founded and work on still with a global network of friends and supporters,creating sustainable development projects and real economic results for the people of Haiti. Go to the website, our youtube channel (100forhaiti) or email / facebook us anytime to find out more. I am really excited about the upcoming Trial European tour, the dates of which can be found here (http://tinyurl.com/trialeurope). And anyone who has questions about anything I brought up in this interview can be in touch anytime by way of the all-knowing website of ultimate power and data mining, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gregbennick

What else would you like to do that you haven't already done and why?

GREG: That one's easy. 1. Write and release a Between Earth & Sky full length CD (because I want there to be a more definitive statement from the band). 2. Make the phad thai recipe from the first episode of the Vegan Black Metal Chef YouTube video series (because I want to cut the tofu, turn the plate, cut the tofu, turn the plate, with a knife that IS that awesome). 3. Write a book (because I have about nine books floating around in my head all day long and my brain will explode if I don't get started soon). 4. Help support Haiti (because they need it and because I am their neighbor and I live in the country largely responsible for their annihilation and lack of stability). And 5. Convince you to go vegan. (Because I want to see you be able to skydive without parachutes, win the gold medal on the balance beam, and build furniture, all of which is inevitable when you switch to a vegan diet).

Friday, September 9, 2011

Andy Dempz, guitar player for Earthmover, hit me the other day to let me know that there is still some leftover merch from their reunion show in Chicago earlier this year. They've set up a Big Cartel store and are ready to ship so scoop these up before they're gone. He also sent me footage of them opening up their set...looks straight out of a Slayer show. If you view the video on Youtube, you can also see footage from their Detroit reunion show.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Here's a band from Germany which released only 1 record I'm aware of, the awesome 'Beast To Bastard' 7", and then disappeared. Which is unfortunate becuz this 7" rules from start to finish. Carnage from the west of Germany played raw, dark & harsh metallic hardcore with strained vocals. Great stuff. This 7" was released on Rex Rotari Records, also out of Germany, in 1996. Because there's no gap between the songs on either side of the 7" I didn't split them up. Anyways, give this 7" a chance if you haven't already.Carnage - Beast To Bastard 7"

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Well... when I started to listen to music I did listen to a lot of thrash and metal. I have an older brother who while we grew up he played guitar and did listen to a lot of Anthrax, Slayer, Pantera and Metallica so at a really young age the music was really appealing to me. Then as I grew up I started to hang out with a lot of people and they were really involved in bands and they did show me a lot of music and that's where I did discover punk music... and I did relate to it and started to find out more, and then I discovered bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, etc. and instantly knew it was "my kind of music"... I joke about the Dimitri Costas picture, where there's Keith Morris, Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins as "The Holy Trinity" and yes, I have to thank those three for making such awesome music and inspiring me.

Did you understand English before you started listening to American hardcore? If not, how were you able to overcome the language barrier in order to fully appreciate the song lyrics?

Yes, I did but even as I did understand the lyrics there's always a cultural and language barrier... at least I see it that way and the situation in my country is not the same as in America so there's always something you won't be able to catch entirely, that did happen to me before, but over all it wasn't a problem to me. I started to listen to American Hardcore and as I did listen to it I tried to find bands that sang in my own language... there are awesome bands like El Eterno Enemigo, Vieja Escuela, Los Crudos and some from my own country.

Discuss the past and present hardcore scenes in your home country of Guatemala.

The first time I went to a hardcore show here in Guatemala, I loved the fact that everybody knew each other, they were all friends and hung out together... I like that sense of unity and of course there are great bands here... most of those bands have been straight edge, I'm not straight edge myself but I have mad respect for the people that are... there were bands back then like Fuerza X, Sangre Joven, Rivalidad, Nota Suicida, Residentes and some other more. Like in every scene, there are kids that just show up to pick up fights and be all stupid... beating up others as if they were trying to prove they were better, meaner and stronger... to me that's idiotic, totally takes out what hardcore is really about. The positive thing is having great bands like Venganza, Creo En Mi and Volver that are still out there making awesome music. If you want to check out more Guatemalan music you can go to this site - http://bajopresionrecords.bandcamp.com/

Discuss the bands that you've been in.

Well I've been in different bands and in bands that had different styles from one another. The first band I was in is a band called Evilminded, my best friend's band... he does really awesome music that mixes a lot of electronic industrial sounds with grindcore, punk, metal so I did sing in it for some time, it was an awesome experience cause I could experience a totally different sound and my friend always challenged me (and still does) to be a better singer. Then I joined a local punk band called Los Hijos De Su Madre for a really short time... great friends of mine, but I was finishing school so I feel like I didn't give them the time they deserved so I ended up getting kicked out. I spent several years without being in a band, then last year I got together with two girls and a guy and we formed La Reina Está Muerta, we did a few shows because Dani (the bass player) goes to school in the States so we didn't have a lot of time in our hands but we did manage to do a lot with the time we had.

As a singer and a songwriter, who/what are some of your influences and why?

My influences... I can say that who shaped me as a singer and as a person would be Henry Rollins... I think he's a very smart and awesome person... that made me to be a very outspoken person. Other things that influence me, as it is the case of other writers, are my everyday situation, the things that happen around me and how I need to vent about it. I see writing as a release and a way to express all that I think and feel. Now, the bands that have influenced me are Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Minor Threat, Fugazi, Black Flag, Trial, The Smiths, Ceremony, Refused, Outspoken.

Well, Liberation Frequency did start after my friend Mike Celis and I tried to start a powerviolence band and didn't find a drummer so one day we were talking and we just came up with the whole concept of the radio show: to play music we like and wanted to share. So we make playlists, one hour long each and that's where the magic begins. it's on Wednesdays from 8 to 10pm CDT. http://liberationfrequency.listen2myradio.com/

You play an extremely varied mix of music on Liberation Frequency but are there any genres of music that you will NOT play (besides, obviously, any music with racist/sexist/homophobic lyrical content)? If so, what genre(s) and why won't you play them?

Yes we do play a lot of music, we play grindcore, hardcore, sludge, powerviolence, post-punk, screamo and sometimes Mike plays some hip-hop... I'm not into it and I will never play it myself but he can play anything he wants on his playlist.

How did you get into photography?

I'm a Graphic Designer and I took photography one semester and I fell in love with it. I don't consider myself a great photographer but I take pictures of what I consider to be appealing or that catches my eye. I've been doing it for a long time and I'm not planning to stop doing so. This is going to be shameless self-promotion but here's the link to my blog http://luciaxmacip.tumblr.com/

As a photographer, who/what are some of your influences and why?

My influences aren't other photographers, music and life in general inspire me. I might sound lame but I'd rather do my own thing and see where I go from there but I can tell you... I'm a fan of Ross Farrar's work... really awesome pics.

Do you have any plans to make your photos available in some kind of a hardcopy form? If so, please discuss. If not, why not?

If someone wants them I will do it for sure, you can buy them or trade me some music... the last one sounds better and will make me a really happy girl.

How long have you been vegan and why did you become vegan?

Well before being a vegan I was a vegetarian for 7 years. I've always been an animal lover... I can tell you I like animals more than I do like people. So I was thinking about doing it for years but I thought about it and saw it as something hard to do... so I've been a vegan for 5 months and I'm loving it, I made the right choice.

Living in Guatemala, how much of a challenge is it for you to maintain a vegan diet?

Well at first it was hard for me... I didn't know where to buy stuff, but I did meet some other vegans and there are several in the hardcore scene so I did ask around on what to eat, how to do it and where to buy stuff and now it is really easy for me... plus, veganism made me fall in love with cooking again so it might seem like a bit of a challenge but it is something that can be done.

I'm a staunch animal rights supporter and a very proud caretaker of 3 rescue dogs. However, I'm also a lifelong red meat eater and while I could certainly see myself giving up the more expensive red meats (i.e. steak and filet mignon), I just don't think that I'll ever be able to completely stop eating ground beef in one form or another. As a vegan, what are your thoughts and opinions on this conflict of mine?

Well, I think veganism is a personal choice, and I don't think less of people who do eat meat... I'm glad to hear you love animals and give love to three dogs... I have three dogs as well :) about the meat... if you think you can't do it, just have days where you don't eat it, and try to do it less... plus, it's good for your health and your pocket. ;)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Cowardice hail from Tacoma, WA and are definitely one of the best bands currently going in the realm of Northwest Hardcore. They recently recorded a full length, and have made it available for free download. A direct V0 download is available on mediafire, or you can also head over to their bandcamp page to download it in various formats. There are also plans to put the record out in a physical format, so keep your eyes peeled for such an announcement.

I grew up in a small town in southern Maryland (about an hour and a half south of DC), where there was not a lot to do. In middle school, I started skateboarding and an older skater made me and my best friend some punk tapes (Circle Jerks, the Dead Kennedys and TSOL). I was hooked on punk and later hardcore from there on out. My friends and I traveled an hour and a half to shows in DC and Baltimore, and sometimes put on little shows and “skate jams” in our own. When I was 16, I stumbled upon an interview with Ian MacKaye in the Washington Post. He was in Embrace, at the time. I wrote him what was probably a ridiculous fan letter and sent him my 'zine, and to my surprise, he wrote me back with some very encouraging words. The whole "small-worldness" of this left a deep impression upon me.

How did you come to book weekend hardcore matinee shows at the Safari Club in Washington, DC when you were a teenager?

I graduated from high school when I was 17, and moved to NY briefly. When I moved back to MD, my friend Toby (Morse, who is now in H2O—he, Todd Morse, Todd Friend and Rusty Pistachio all grew up together in that MD town) was very excited to introduce me to a new girl in town named Pam, who came from St. Louis, MO and was “all into punk rock, too!” (I had no other girls to go to punk shows with back then—most of my skating and punk friends were guys). So Pam and I became besties, then roommates. She became co-editor of the ‘zine and we moved to the DC area of Northern VA together.

One night I was out with my boyfriend’s band, who was supposed to play at the Safari Club. We get to the club and it’s a pay-to-play situation, and the soundman wants $50 from each band or something. The headlining band left right away and my boyfriend’s band was hemming and hawing about whether they were gonna do it or not. Someone forgot some equipment or something and they all left the club at different times, saying they’d be back to play, and somehow in all of the confusion, I got left behind. I sat there all night—until 3 am—waiting for my dumb boyfriend to come back to get me. This was before cell phones, so I used the bar’s phone to try to call him, Pam, or anyone who could come get me (by midnight, the Metro had shut off), but couldn’t reach anyone. I had about $4 in my pocket and a cab ride to Fairfax, VA would have been about $30. While shooting the breeze with the club owner—this Ethiopian guy named Haile—I asked him if I could book matinee “rock shows” on the weekend there sometime. He said sure, as long as he got a percentage of the door, so we took out a calendar, and he picked out two dates for me to start with. He must have felt sorry for me, because then he called up one of his cabdriver friends and asked them to take me home—for free.

The next day, I was happy to tell Pam we had a place where we could do shows now—and I broke up with the guy.

What show(s) that you booked are you the most proud of and why?

I don’t know about pride, but the most exciting thing was probably the first Gorilla Biscuits show. Our first show was 3 local bands, and according to my notes, 69 people showed up. Cool, but Pam and I hoped they’d get bigger. The following week, Swiz and GB were booked. When Pam and I pulled up to the club at 11 to meet the sound people for sound check, 400 people were waiting outside! They didn’t even have a 7-inch out yet. We were blown away. Then they were 4 hours late, and people actually waited for them to show! We were nervous wrecks, thinking they might not actually come, but they did and everyone was stoked and it was a lot of fun.

After that, the Ethiopian club owner was like “Gorilla Biscuits, every weekend!” We had to explain why that would not work.

What show(s) that you went to in the '90s stick out the most in your mind and why?

In the early 90s, I lived in NYC briefly and then came back and started college full time, so most of the shows I went to were at the 9:30 Club or at CBGBs. I’d see Sick of it All over and over, wherever I lived (still do). Went to one of Into Another’s first shows at the Pyramid Club in NY. Briefly interned for Def Jam Records, so I went to (and worked) a lot of hip hop shows, like Public Enemy, EPMD, A Tribe Called Quest, Ice Cube, Ice-T, Salt-n-Pepa, etc. Saw an awesome go go show with Rare Essence and Naughty by Nature in the Maryland suburbs. Saw the Ramones at a community college in Long Island once. Rage Against the Machine played a dance club in DC--that was pretty cool. I've been to so many shows, I get them all confused. I hung out at the 9:30 Club during that time a lot, not even knowing what bands were playing, and I incidentally saw bands like Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Danzig, Soundgarden, Bad Brains, Nine Inch Nails, etc.

I had no idea the Safari Club continued after we quit, until in ’95 when I met Martin Castro in a grocery store, of all places, then invited him to a Slayer show I was working (as an intern) and he brought along Rich Dolinger (who is now my husband). He and Rich told me about how Safari Club’s name had changed to Chamber of Sound and invited me to come see Shelter there that weekend. I was amazed when I walked in…the room was packed, everyone was holding up a camera, and almost half of the audience was female! There was lots of merch (not as common at 80s shows, either)—I mean, like a distro table—and Hare Krishna literature and food. It was pretty cool to see. Even though only a few years had passed, being back felt like I was in a time warp. It’s like I’d found some lost piece of myself.

Best shows I saw in the 80s include Soulside at DC Space, Verbal Assault at the Wilson Center, Fugazi, Moss Icon and Images at a church in Annapolis, and the Beastie Boys at some community center in Northern VA. Oh, and once Fugazi played the county fairgrounds in the town where I grew up, so that was pretty mind-blowing, going back there for that.

Do you prefer '80s hardcore to '90s hardcore or vice versa? Why?

Rich would tell you that I’m more into punk than hardcore, but I don’t really divide it up like that in my mind. 80s stuff like Soulside, Kingface, Dag Nasty, the Descendents, and Minor Threat I can listen to over and over and over again—it’ll always have a special place in my heart. I know more 80s music because I was kind of out-of-the-loop in the early 90s. But Rich played in Sri’s band (Baby Gopal), and in some hardcore bands in Cali (The Rule of Nines and Try Harder) so that’s given me an opportunity to see some great newer stuff. Still, I guess I lean towards the music of my youth.

What were some of your experiences (positive and/or negative) as a female in the predominantly male hardcore scenes of the '80s and the '90s?

Overall good experiences. I couldn’t help but notice the ratio when at shows, though, and I longed for a female friend into punk rock, as a younger teenager. I loved my guy friends, though, and still do. Since we were in such a small town together, we spent a lot of time making music, taking roadtrips, making zines, skating and just goofing off together. Most of them were pretty evolved dudes, and I think the DC scene in general was pretty welcoming. I was inspired by bands like 7 Seconds and Fugazi, who addressed issues of gender in their music. I was not really aware of riot grrrl stuff until it was over and was honestly a little jealous of that whole movement, later on. It must have been fun and empowering for the people involved in that.

There were a couple of bad things that happened that I’d never want a young girl to go through. Once I was waiting for (another loser) boyfriend at a Mentors and GWAR show (I had no idea who they were), and some drunk guy came up and tried to kiss me. I suddenly realized I was the only woman at the show and I didn’t really know anyone else there. I hid in the bathroom until my boyfriend showed up and then I just wanted to get the hell outta there.

Generally speaking, did being a female either help or hurt your involvement in the hardcore scene?

I don’t know. There is a culture of machismo in hardcore, which I was probably very attracted to at the time, and I was comfortable with that and knew how to work that. I never felt left out. A gay or emo guy probably suffered more than I did in that scene. Sometimes I felt frustrated some of the girls I met were just there hanging with their boyfriends and did not seem to love the music or culture, and I seemed to have nothing in common with the girls I met in college.

You and your husband Rich Dolinger are currently working on an oral history book entitled Live At The Safari Club, which chronicles the club's entire 1988-1997 history. Discuss this book.

Yes—after living in LA for 9 years and NC for 4, we recently moved back to DC and found ourselves checking out what remains of the club—it’s this crumbling shell of a building surrounded by gourmet sandwich shops and high-rises—completely different neighborhood than it was in the 80s or 90s. Then we were on Dissonance Radio with our friend Dave Brown and he and the host joked about my next book being a Safari Club book. Later, Rich and I talked about it and wondered if anyone else would be into it, then thought that even if only 4 people in the world would want this “scrapbook,” we should do it, just to have a document of that time. There had been a lot of talk amongst friends about how early and mid-80s punk has been well-covered, and many of these punk books and movies love to say that hardcore died in ’85, but anyone who has been paying attention knows it didn’t. This era made its own contributions to the overall conversation of underground music, and that should be recognized.

I thought oral history-style would be the only way, because otherwise people will complain about our point of view. People are gonna complain anyway—it’s hardcore—but we’ve been overwhelmed with the number of people who have been enthusiastic about the project. The Washington Post Express mentioned us in a brief article about the Wilson Center’s 30-year anniversary and then our website went crazy, with people sending flyers, photos and stories. Now we feel like we HAVE to make it good and do it right, because people are counting on that. The scene is our family and we love the people in it. It’s cool to know it wasn’t just our imaginations—this music and scene matter to more than just us.

Who are some of the '90s hardcore notables that you and your husband interviewed for the book?

I like experiential writers like Hunter S. Thompson, Truman Capote, Susan Orlean—and people with an ear for language, like Alice Walker, Michele Serros, Sandro Meallet, Carolyn Forche, Chuck Palahniuk, etc. I teach literature, so I like to think I am immersed in the greats, every day. My hope is that this book is DC’s answer to Legs McNeil’s Please Kill Me or Brendan Mullen and Marc Spitz’s We Got the Neutron Bomb.

Shawna Kenney's writings and photos have appeared in My First Time: A Collection of First Punk Show Stories (AK Press), Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class (Seal Press), BUST, AP, Ms., Transworld Skateboarding and a bunch of other anthologies and books.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Here's one for all the fans of Christian-core. Prepared For War is a 3-way split that came out on Boot To Head Records in 1995, and featured songs from Overcome, No Innocent Victim and Clay. Boot To Head was (is?) based out of Portland, Oregon and I remember seeing the label owner around at a decent amount of hardcore shows in the mid - late 90s, and he typically had a Christian hardcore distro with him. Outside of any demos they may have recorded, I believe this is the first release from Overcome, and the same might go for No Innocent Victim as well.